[extropy-chat] Maximising Human Potential : Education : Toys

[Mike Lorrey]

Here's an idea: Africa-opoly

A board game, played like monopoly, which is produced by painting the
board on cow hide, cloth, or plastic sheets. The board is customized to
the local geography, and would include some additional features, beyond
building homes and hotels on properties, to building infrastructure
like water, sewer, roads, and electric power. Chance cards would
include things like "You shot a rhino/elephant/giraffe/gorilla/etc, go
to jail", among others.

--- Acy James Stapp <astapp at fizzfactorgames.com> wrote:
> Daniel Matthews wrote:
> 
> > Simple and durable is definitely the way to go, then the toys can
> be
> > handed down to other children along with any curlure that has
> evolved
> > from the children's interaction with them.
> > 
> > I am going to focus on wood as I feel there are a lot of good
> designs
> > for wooded puzzles and building blocks etc. As you pointed out
> there
> > are many traditional toys of this type in some parts of the world,
> so
> > all I need to do is to select the best of these ideas to propagate
> > globally. 
> 
> Keep in mind that wood is also used as fuel for cooking in many parts
> of the world. These toys will compete with that.
> 
> Read http://pcasacas.org/SPC/spcissues/22.1/donlon.html for some good
> information about traditional wooden and wire toys in South Africa.
> One
> thing mentioned is that wooden toys are considered special.
> 
> You should also consider the energy cost of mass fabrication. In 
> the developed world we consider energy usage on a personal scale to
> be inexpensive or even essentially free. Incidental costs which
> would seem trivial to us need to be accounted for.
> 
> I haven't ever lived in the third world, but I think you really 
> need to get the advice of someone who has lived and worked there.
> 
> Here's another good link, showing a little bit about the creativity
> of third-world children in making toys:
> http://www.eco-artware.com/newsletter/newsletter_07_01.shtml#toys
> _______________________________________________
> extropy-chat mailing list
> extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
> http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo/extropy-chat


=====
Mike Lorrey
Chairman, Free Town Land Development
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                                       - Gen. John Stark
Blog: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Sadomikeyism


	
		
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! - Internet access at a great low price.
http://promo.yahoo.com/sbc/